‘EASY RIDER’AT THE TCA

DENNIS HOPPER’S BIRTHDAY IS MONDAY (May 17), declared by proclamation (by then Governor Bill Richardson) in 2010, as Dennis Hopper Day in New Mexico, and the Taos Community Auditorium will do a pop-up drive-in screening in TCA’s backlot of “Easy Rider” at 8:30 p.m., honoring Hopper’s life and legacy in Taos.

Dennis Hopper arrived in Taos during the late ‘60s. The then-sleepy town cast its spell over him as soon as he first laid eyes on the mountain, with the gorge ripping through the valley below.

Hopper bought the old Mabel Dodge Luhan House, renamed the Big House by locals – and the Mud Palace by insiders – and settled in for over a decade of bohemian life, before finally moving back to Venice, California, to recharge his career. He converted the El Cortez Theater in Ranchos, into a bolthole and studio, and Taos is where he’d come to make art and hang out with old friends. May 17th was Hopper’s birthday and in 2014, the town proclaimed it Dennis Hopper Day. This year, like last, Dennis Hopper Day is on hold – the Easy Rider motorcycle ride may attract a few intrepid souls, but the pandemic has silenced the roar of the bikes, for the moment.

Hopper was a pivotal figure in the pop-cultural zeitgeist of the ‘60s. His legacy in Taos includes the body of work that moved him out of the mainstream, into the underground, and back again.

He has left us with stories, both true and imagined, the stuff of myth and mystery. Outlaw renegade and creative genius, Dennis Hopper was one of America’s most courageous artists, taking risks with both his life and career, he was a true groundbreaker. Not always popular with the locals in Taos, Hopper, at the end of the day, after all his adventures here in the Wild West, had the last laugh. He was honored with a show at the Harwood Museum in 2009, which included works by many of the artists who followed him here, among them Larry Bell, Ron Cooper and Ron Davis. By the end of his life, Hopper had come full circle.

He is buried here, in the place he called home for a quarter of a century, and his influence on this valley cannot and should not be overlooked; it continues into this time, with a new generation of bohemian artists and creatives arriving on the heels of Hopper’s talented son, Henry, who has been spending time here off and on since he was an infant. The beat goes on. Stay tuned.

This year, in lieu of bike rallies and buffalo barbeques, the TCA will honor Hopper with a pop-up drive-in screening of his iconic film, much of which was shot here in Taos. For more information, visit tcataos.org.